Lamar Jackson Wants Antonio Brown on the Ravens

Lamar Jackson was spotted working out with Antonio Brown in April, and the reigning MVP is still holding out hope that the troubled but talented wide receiver could join the Baltimore Ravens’ roster. Per Jamison Hensley of ESPN:

Lamar Jackson: "It was nice throwing to Antonio Brown [this offseason]. I was hoping we would get him. I’m still hoping — a little bit."

— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) July 29, 2020

Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Sun added:

Lamar Jackson on Antonio Brown: "I just feel he's a great guy. … He's a cool, down-to-earth guy. He's passionate about the sport of football."

His impression from workouts: "There's no quit with him." He feels the Ravens' locker room is different from every other team's.

— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) July 29, 2020

I’m gonna go ahead and disagree with Jackson about Brown being a great guy. Nonetheless, his wish depends on a number of factors. Brown repeatedly changes his mind publicly about whether he wants to play in the NFL again or not, and the NFL is thus far refusing to give him any sort of timetable about when he would even be allowed to play again.

From a football perspective, Brown is very volatile, but John Harbaugh and the Ravens have pretty good management systems. The team lacked production at wide receiver last season — no one at the position cracked 600 yards last season. Marquise Brown led wide receivers on the team with 584 yards, and Willie Snead IV was second with 339. (Tight ends Mark Andrews and Hayden Hurst had 852 and 349 yards, respectively.)

So, Brown would be an upgrade for the Ravens at his position, but he comes with considerable baggage.